敘事的交會：馬汀•麥多納《枕頭人》研究

Abstract

馬汀•麥多納的《枕頭人》是一個充滿謎題的後設劇本，它一方面充滿各種轉折，另一方面透過這些轉折來指向敘事本身。本研究嘗試運用、修正既有的敘事理論、藝術哲學論述及複調理論，找出《枕頭人》和這些論述的連結方式，藉此探討劇本的結構特徵和文本意涵，尋找文本形式與內容之間的關係。 在形式方面，本論文首先以敘事理論確認《枕頭人》中多位敘事者的在場與作用，並透過修辭性敘事學論述，一方面舉證劇中的敘事聲音如何傳達與之相應的社會現象，另一方面檢驗「作者」與「敘事者」在劇中如何被混淆，進而影響劇情發展和劇中主角卡圖里安的命運。除此之外，戲劇中的敘事具有雙重維度，視覺與聽覺印象同時作用。這種敘事特徵讓卡圖里安同時具備敘事者、說故事者與真實作者的身分與特權，使他顯得「全知」而有罪，而非他所聲稱的無辜冤枉。 在內容方面，透過敘事分析及角色分析，本論文試圖歸納主要角色所體現的不可分割之雙重性，如理智與瘋狂、主觀與客觀。對立的概念被並置在劇中，主要角色的爭議性也因而被突顯出來。不同價值觀與道德觀的衝撞，亦反映在角色對卡圖里安歧異的態度，及他們對短篇故事的詮釋，這些差異呼應了不同的敘事與道德理解關係。然而，該劇並未偏好特定立場，而是讓不同的觀點同時發聲，觀眾在欣賞劇作的過程中，便得以深化自己的道德理解。 《枕頭人》的主角卡圖里安具有不定而浮動的主體意識，這恰好和他曖昧不明的敘事位置相呼應，而這樣的特點證實《枕頭人》是一個複調劇本：它讓各種聲音並存於劇中，確保不同意識形態的對話。《枕頭人》是作為文學批評的虛構作品，它既是一部邀請觀眾參與敘事填充的劇本，也是一個關於敘事本身的論述，各種聲音在《枕頭人》中交會，敘事之於《枕頭人》的重要性因而不容忽視。

As a metafictional play, Martin McDonagh’s The Pillowman consists of numerous puzzles and twists that make the play itself as a work of narrative art. By using and amending existing theories of narrative, philosophy of art, and polyphonic novel, this research attempts to point out how The Pillowman illustrates these discourses through which we enter into the significance of its multiple structures and stories, and the relation between the two. In terms of structure, this thesis, by applying narrative theories, confirms multiple narrators’ presence and functions in The Pillowman. In light of the rhetorical narratology, narrative voices in the play can be social phenomena in which the ideas of author and narrator are so integrated that causes the protagonist Katurian to be destructed by external and internal forces. Moreover, the quality of being virtually real in theatre allows Katurian an omniscient perspective as a narrator, storyteller and author, while he cannot feel guilty about his own mixed roles in the incidents he creates. This thesis also analyzes the narrative techniques used in The Pillowman, specifying how its characters embody the inseparable dualism, for instance, reason/ madness, subjectivity/ objectivity. The juxtaposition of these conflicting concepts manifests the controversy over characters. That is, their various judgments on Katurian reflect how diverse the interpretations of Katurian’s stories can be. Having ensured the reliability of different narratives, the play allows the audience to see causes and effects of incidents from different perspectives in this play. The Pillowman is a polyphonic play in which Katurian’s mixed roles result in his ambiguous narrative positions. With diverse points of view, the play invites the audience to reevaluate their sense of morality. The play, therefore, is a work of narrative art that not only guarantees the dialogue between various ethical concepts but also extends the limits of different narratives. As a fictional work that questions the feasibility of narratology, The Pillowman is where narratives meet, and where more dialogues begin.